Driving Tutors and How to Choose Them.

Driving Instructors

Driving Instructors

Types of Driving Instructors

Independent Driving Instructors

Driving School Instructors

Continued Professional Development

How to Choose Your Driving Instructor

Whilst many people consider all driving instructors to be the same, this statement could not be any further from the truth. There are two types of driving instructor, the first type are considered sole traders and have nobody to answer to nor are they responsible for anyone else. The second type are part of a driving school, whilst they are not responsible for anyone else they do answer to the school.

The advantage of working for a driving school is the instructor can concentrate more on the tutoring side of things rather than having to divide themselves in two to handle other administration areas such as promotion, handling of bookings or appointments, collection of fees. These are all handled by the driving school itself. Driving instructors who are tied to a driving school are typically Franchises.

Now we have identified the two main differences in types of driving instructors, there are also wider differences regarding levels of experience & self development. You might be forgiven for thinking that a particular instructor might be better suited than another simply because he has been in the industry a lot longer.

The industry has changed considerably over the last few years & this kind of thinking can soon be abandoned when we learn that keeping up to date with the latest procedures & methods is key to today’s driving tuition. Each & every driving instructor has to pass a gruelling examination themselves before they can be authorised as a driving instructor.

There are two types of driving instructor recognised by the governing body, the DVSA. They are the Authorised Driving Instructor & the Provisional Driving Instructor. The ADI has passed all exams & is fully authorised by the DVSA. An ADI is required by law to display a green badge on the vehicle they will be using to tutor their pupils.

A Provisional Driving Instructor, also known as a PDI, is recognised by the DVSA as someone who has partly completed their training & is yet to sit their final exams. A PDI is still authorised to tutor & is required by law to display a pink badge in their driving tuition vehicle.

Now this is where there can be big differences in the quality levels of driving instructors because whilst all driving instructors have to be either a PDI or an ADI by law, once they have successfully completed their exams they are then registered for life with no further requirements. There are approximately 47,000 registered instructors in the UK whilst less than a quarter of that number actually keep up to date with current practices & procedures.

This means that more than three quarters of driving instructors could be teaching out of date methods. Is it any wonder that less than half those who successfully pass their practical driving test have done so at the first attempt. Generally you can usually accept that driving schools do teach the most up to date methods as they have the resources available to ensure their instructors adopt best practices & latest legislations. Something to bear in mind if you are considering taking driving lessons.